The usual suspects
The airports with the most delays are concentrated in the Northeast and a few weather-prone locations:
- Newark (EWR) — Consistently the worst. Cramped runways, weather, and air traffic congestion from three NYC-area airports.
- JFK — Same weather as Newark, plus international traffic complexity.
- San Francisco (SFO) — Notorious summer fog. Two closely-spaced runways that can't be used simultaneously in bad visibility.
- Chicago O'Hare (ORD) — Busiest airport + midwestern thunderstorms + winter snow. Triple threat.
- LaGuardia (LGA) — Small airport handling big-airport traffic.
Best airports for on-time
Smaller airports and those with favorable weather dominate the top: Honolulu, Salt Lake City, and most airports in the Mountain West where weather is dry and traffic is manageable.
💡 Routing tip
If connecting, avoid EWR, JFK, and ORD when possible. ATL is a huge hub but handles delays well due to its parallel runway system. DEN is another reliable connector — dry weather and modern infrastructure.